The background of the inventin will be discussed in two parts:
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to holders for thin wood or plastic strips, and more particularly to holders for bender boards used in landscaping construction or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Landscaping architecture often involves the construction of lawns or planting beds with curved contours. These contours are traditionally defined by thin, flexible bender boards set on edge along the ground, and held in place by nailing them at intervals to wooden hubs or stakes driven into the ground. Soil is then backfilled against the bender board to form the bed.
In assembling such curved contours, the hubs or stakes are typically pounded into the ground on one or both sides of the wooden strip. If attempts are made to nail the strip to the hubs or stakes, the stake is loosened, thus weakening its hold in the ground. In addition, any hammering into subsequent stakes in proximity to a given stake will likewise cause loosening of the stake as well as the assembled contour edging, while also causing cracking of the strip itself.
Although, the traditionl method is generally satisfactory, it has other disadvantages. Because of the outward pressure of the backfill against the bender board, the stakes have to be on the outside of the bed, where they are unsightly. The conventional wooden stakes are also subject to cracking and are awkward to handle. If carelessly driven in, they will protrude above the upper edge of the bender board and present a hazard.
Landscape architectural devices in the prior art tend to focus on such problems as lawn edging devices or tree and shrub surrounding devices. In the latter category, U.S. Pat. No. 2,782,561, entitled "Tree Surrounding Ring", issued to Smith, shows and describes a ring formed in arcuate segments with downwardly depending projections and interlocking means. U.S. Pat. No. 425,890, entitled "Border for Flower Beds" discloses a border with metal stakes with a slot through which a flat metal bender strip can be threaded. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the stakes necessarily protrude above the bender strip and thereby increase the hazard, and also that it is difficult to thread the resulting strip through the stakes and hold it tightly therein without separate wedges.
In the lawn edging category, U.S. Pat. No. 2,774,357, entitled "Lawn Edging Device", issued to Foote, discloses a channel shaped member configured for defining the edge with a T-shaped member insertable therein. U.S. Pat. No. 3,277,606, entitled "Lawn Edging Material", issued to Cohen, discloses a device having an inverted generally U-shaped base member and a top member coupled thereto. The devices of both patents are attempts to eliminate the more economical wood strip and provide cumbersome, complicated, expensive arrangements.
Other patents which touch on the general subject matter are U.S. Pat. No. 327,717, entitled "Fence", issued to Phillips; U.S. Pat. No. 2,116,426, entitled "Guardrail for Athletic Fields", issued to Cecil; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,780, entitled "Fence Border", issued to Cowles et al. Such prior art patents disclose fence, guard rail and border constructions, and are referenced for completeness.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holding device for retaining wood strips, and particularly a new and improved bender board holder which can be driven into the ground, and which resiliently grasps the bender board adjacent its lower edge by means of inwardly biased channel legs.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved holder of the type described which is capable of holding the bender board in place without nailing.